Venetian Theatre to open soon in Hillsboro

FACTBOX

HILLSBORO -- Walk east from a grove of giant sequoias
towering above the three-story Washington County Courthouse.
Follow a smattering of mismatched business signs on Main
Street, and you'll come to a pharmacy, circa 1873, a
row of children and old-timers inside enjoying coffee and
old-fashioned sodas.

That view of old-town Hillsboro has been fading for decades
since shopping malls closer to Portland supplanted a
once-humming downtown shopping district.

But walk two more doors down, and you'll see the new
guard taking shape, something city leaders might call
downtown Hillsboro's latest crown jewel, even its
salvation -- the renovated, historic Venetian Theatre &
Bistro. Set to open the evening of July 7, the Venetian
houses a revamped, second-run movie theater that will host
live music and theater, and a bistro and wine bar open from
early morning to late night.

The Venetian exemplifies a new strategy by city leaders to
use arts and culture to rouse a downtown district anchored
by county and city offices and a block of shops that mostly
lock before evening. With cultural allures and night life,
officials hope to breathe new life into a city known to
outsiders as the home of Intel research or as a farm town
with a visible Latino population.

It's a struggle many cities undergo as old downtowns
compete with modern centers, but Hillsboro has moved from
wishing to ribbon-cutting by capitalizing on residents'
sense of community and making investments, said John
Southgate, the city economic development manager overseeing
downtown development.

Downtown is key

The heart and soul of a community -- its downtown -- must
stand out, officials say.

As part of its renewed dedication to the arts, the city
opened the Glenn & Viola Walters Cultural Arts Center
for art, theater and music in 2004, funded in part by the
local nursery owners for whom the center is named.

The next year, Hillsboro created a downtown focal point,
opening its sleek, contemporary Civic Center, housing City
Hall, with a plaza, complete with a fountain, for farmers
markets and events.

In 2007, city leaders helped the Hillsboro Artists'
Regional Theatre open its permanent site by the Civic
Center, and in January, Sequoia Gallery + Studios
artists' cooperative opened in a space leased by the
city.

Venetian Theatre developer Denzil Scheller said
Hillsboro's commitments, particularly building the
Civic Center and offering $750,000 to the person who would
redevelop the vacant theater, convinced him things could
turn around in downtown Hillsboro.

Downtown is "just on the cusp of being really
good," Scheller said.

The city's efforts have been complemented by private
initiatives: Hillsboro's downtown business association
kick-started a First Tuesday night art walk; people
volunteer and donate money to keep the downtown Tuesday and
Saturday markets running during summer, and an association
of local artists opened the private Influence Gallery
downtown.

"If you want to achieve something in Hillsboro, there
are a lot of people who will sign up if they can see that
it's for the good of their community," Southgate
said.

Megan Gibb, program manager for transit-oriented
development at Metro, the regional government, said she
considers Hillsboro a model in taking initiative.

"They're not waiting for things to happen,"
Gibb said. "It takes that type of effort to see
results."

Cities can succeed in revitalizing downtowns by building
off assets, partnering with business investors and managing
progress, said Vicki Dugger, executive director of the
Oregon Downtown Development Association.

Cities such as McMinnville and Lake Oswego, she said, made
themselves destinations by creating walkable shopping and
dining districts next to existing attractions, such as wine
country or Oswego Lake.

In Hillsboro's neighboring city, Beaverton, Councilor
Dennis Doyle, who will take office as mayor next year, said
its downtown district could benefit from its own arts
infusion. Beaverton holds a Last Tuesday arts event near
downtown and will soon launch a public mural program, but it
lacks a dedicated arts or theater venue.

Doyle said that during the city's recent visioning
process, residents made it clear they want both a cultural
arts center and a reinvigorated downtown, and Doyle said he
plans to work with private investors on those projects.

"It would add a real piece to the city's
attractiveness," he said.

A new identity

Hillsboro Mayor Tom Hughes remembers how Hillsboro's
downtown has evolved since it was the center of a wealthy
farming community when he was growing up in the 1950s.

J.C. Penney Co. and other department stores, a butcher
shop, bakeries and other businesses packed four blocks
along Main Street. But after shopping malls such as
Portland's Lloyd Center and Washington Square in
Tigard opened, Hillsboro's downtown stores, which
typically closed evenings and weekends, moved or shut down,
Hughes said.

Now, the city's downtown is rebuilding its identity
with antique stores, eclectic shops and arts venues that are
"Wal-Mart-proof," he said: a destination bead
shop, a classic-toy store, a home-brew-making shop.

"Malls are great places to shop, but they don't
have a soul," Hughes said.

Downtown is still far from perfect and has had its
failures, Hughes says. An American grill and bar slated to
occupy part of the Civic Center fell through in March after
the restaurant company folded. Tresca, one of the few
sit-down restaurants downtown, also recently closed.

Hillsboro's downtown, sitting in a residential
neighborhood at the end of the westside MAX line, competes
with large-scale shopping centers in more heavily populated
areas just off U.S. 26. Events such as Tuesday Marketplace
lure thousands to the area some nights, but day-to-day foot
traffic hasn't necessarily picked up, said Doug
Johnson, a city councilor and owner of Hillsboro Pharmacy
and Fountain.

Still, the downtown strip is more happening now than it has
been in years, said Ken Spencer, 87, a daily visitor to the
Hillsboro Pharmacy and Fountain. He moved to Hillsboro in
1935. Now his daughter, born in 1950, is training to work as
a bartender at the Venetian Theatre.

He misses the era when Saturday nights downtown ran late
while everybody went to the movies or dancing. Now, he gets
booted out of the pharmacy when it closes at 3 p.m.
Saturdays.

Venetian Theatre to open soon in Hillsboro

FACTBOX

HILLSBORO -- Walk east from a grove of giant sequoias
towering above the three-story Washington County Courthouse.
Follow a smattering of mismatched business signs on Main
Street, and you'll come to a pharmacy, circa 1873, a
row of children and old-timers inside enjoying coffee and
old-fashioned sodas.

That view of old-town Hillsboro has been fading for decades
since shopping malls closer to Portland supplanted a
once-humming downtown shopping district.

But walk two more doors down, and you'll see the new
guard taking shape, something city leaders might call
downtown Hillsboro's latest crown jewel, even its
salvation -- the renovated, historic Venetian Theatre &
Bistro. Set to open the evening of July 7, the Venetian
houses a revamped, second-run movie theater that will host
live music and theater, and a bistro and wine bar open from
early morning to late night.

The Venetian exemplifies a new strategy by city leaders to
use arts and culture to rouse a downtown district anchored
by county and city offices and a block of shops that mostly
lock before evening. With cultural allures and night life,
officials hope to breathe new life into a city known to
outsiders as the home of Intel research or as a farm town
with a visible Latino population.

It's a struggle many cities undergo as old downtowns
compete with modern centers, but Hillsboro has moved from
wishing to ribbon-cutting by capitalizing on residents'
sense of community and making investments, said John
Southgate, the city economic development manager overseeing
downtown development.

Downtown is key

The heart and soul of a community -- its downtown -- must
stand out, officials say.

As part of its renewed dedication to the arts, the city
opened the Glenn & Viola Walters Cultural Arts Center
for art, theater and music in 2004, funded in part by the
local nursery owners for whom the center is named.

The next year, Hillsboro created a downtown focal point,
opening its sleek, contemporary Civic Center, housing City
Hall, with a plaza, complete with a fountain, for farmers
markets and events.

In 2007, city leaders helped the Hillsboro Artists'
Regional Theatre open its permanent site by the Civic
Center, and in January, Sequoia Gallery + Studios
artists' cooperative opened in a space leased by the
city.

Venetian Theatre developer Denzil Scheller said
Hillsboro's commitments, particularly building the
Civic Center and offering $750,000 to the person who would
redevelop the vacant theater, convinced him things could
turn around in downtown Hillsboro.

Downtown is "just on the cusp of being really
good," Scheller said.

The city's efforts have been complemented by private
initiatives: Hillsboro's downtown business association
kick-started a First Tuesday night art walk; people
volunteer and donate money to keep the downtown Tuesday and
Saturday markets running during summer, and an association
of local artists opened the private Influence Gallery
downtown.

"If you want to achieve something in Hillsboro, there
are a lot of people who will sign up if they can see that
it's for the good of their community," Southgate
said.

Megan Gibb, program manager for transit-oriented
development at Metro, the regional government, said she
considers Hillsboro a model in taking initiative.

"They're not waiting for things to happen,"
Gibb said. "It takes that type of effort to see
results."

Cities can succeed in revitalizing downtowns by building
off assets, partnering with business investors and managing
progress, said Vicki Dugger, executive director of the
Oregon Downtown Development Association.

Cities such as McMinnville and Lake Oswego, she said, made
themselves destinations by creating walkable shopping and
dining districts next to existing attractions, such as wine
country or Oswego Lake.

In Hillsboro's neighboring city, Beaverton, Councilor
Dennis Doyle, who will take office as mayor next year, said
its downtown district could benefit from its own arts
infusion. Beaverton holds a Last Tuesday arts event near
downtown and will soon launch a public mural program, but it
lacks a dedicated arts or theater venue.

Doyle said that during the city's recent visioning
process, residents made it clear they want both a cultural
arts center and a reinvigorated downtown, and Doyle said he
plans to work with private investors on those projects.

"It would add a real piece to the city's
attractiveness," he said.

A new identity

Hillsboro Mayor Tom Hughes remembers how Hillsboro's
downtown has evolved since it was the center of a wealthy
farming community when he was growing up in the 1950s.

J.C. Penney Co. and other department stores, a butcher
shop, bakeries and other businesses packed four blocks
along Main Street. But after shopping malls such as
Portland's Lloyd Center and Washington Square in
Tigard opened, Hillsboro's downtown stores, which
typically closed evenings and weekends, moved or shut down,
Hughes said.

Now, the city's downtown is rebuilding its identity
with antique stores, eclectic shops and arts venues that are
"Wal-Mart-proof," he said: a destination bead
shop, a classic-toy store, a home-brew-making shop.

"Malls are great places to shop, but they don't
have a soul," Hughes said.

Downtown is still far from perfect and has had its
failures, Hughes says. An American grill and bar slated to
occupy part of the Civic Center fell through in March after
the restaurant company folded. Tresca, one of the few
sit-down restaurants downtown, also recently closed.

Hillsboro's downtown, sitting in a residential
neighborhood at the end of the westside MAX line, competes
with large-scale shopping centers in more heavily populated
areas just off U.S. 26. Events such as Tuesday Marketplace
lure thousands to the area some nights, but day-to-day foot
traffic hasn't necessarily picked up, said Doug
Johnson, a city councilor and owner of Hillsboro Pharmacy
and Fountain.

Still, the downtown strip is more happening now than it has
been in years, said Ken Spencer, 87, a daily visitor to the
Hillsboro Pharmacy and Fountain. He moved to Hillsboro in
1935. Now his daughter, born in 1950, is training to work as
a bartender at the Venetian Theatre.

He misses the era when Saturday nights downtown ran late
while everybody went to the movies or dancing. Now, he gets
booted out of the pharmacy when it closes at 3 p.m.
Saturdays.